Ingredients

Colored coarse sugar like goldred, green, and nonpareils for decorating

Instructions

Softened at room temperature for about 45 minutes before you start making cookies. Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Place the softened butter and maple syrup in a large bowl of stand mixer or regular mixer. Cream on high speed until fluffy for about 4 minutes. Add in egg and vanilla and continue beating until just combined. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined

Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into a disk shape. Wrap them up and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. I left mine overnight in the fridge

When ready to bake the cookies, remove the cookies from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to soften a little bit. Preheat oven to 350 F and position rack in the upper third of the oven

Divide the dough into 3. Work with one dough at a time, roll out the dough on a surface lightly dusted with some confectioner's sugar and roll it into about 1/4-inch thick (I like my sugar cookies thick and soft instead of crispy, so you can roll it thinner if you like it crispy). Use cookie cutters to cut it out into different shapes. Arrange on an ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with some sugar and/or nonpareils and refrigerate them for 15 minutes (this will prevent the cookies from spreading out too much and to hold their cut-out shapes)

I gather all the cut-out bits here and there and roll it out again and I manage to make few more cookies from that. Bake in the oven for about 13-16 minutes. The bottom should be just lightly brown. Let them cool completely on the baking sheets